Palestinians across Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip marked the death from cancer on Tuesday of arch-terrorist Nasser Abu Hamid with “Day of rage” protests and a general strike.
Abu Hamid co-founded the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, which is aligned with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction, during the Second Intifada. In December 2002, he confessed in Jerusalem District Court to killing seven Israelis and received seven life sentences and 50 additional years’ imprisonment.
Abu Hamid died at Assaf Harofe Medical Center in Rishon Lezion after a lengthy battle with lung cancer. Since September, Palestinians had called for his release on medical grounds.
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh accused Israel of “deliberate medical negligence,” while Hamas called for “a real escalation in the occupation prisons” in response to Abu Hamid’s death.
Fatah called for a general strike across cities in Judea and Samaria “in response to the crimes committed against Palestinian prisoners.”
Fatah “also called for a day of rage at contact points with the Israeli army,” official P.A. news outlet Wafa reported.
